[DOCID: f:hr527.111]
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111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 111-527
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COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG HOME STUDY ACT
_______
July 13, 2010.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4514]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 4514) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability
and feasibility of designating the Colonel Charles Young Home
in Xenia, Ohio as a unit of the National Park System, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as
amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Colonel Charles Young Home Study
Act''.
SEC. 2. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this Act as
the ``Secretary''), in consultation with the Secretary of the Army,
shall conduct a special resource study of the Colonel Charles Young
Home, a National Historic Landmark in Xenia, Ohio (referred to in this
Act as the ``Home'').
(b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) evaluate any architectural and archeological resources of
the Home;
(2) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating
the Home as a unit of the National Park System;
(3) consider other alternatives for preservation, protection,
and interpretation of the Home by Federal, State, or local
governmental entities or private and nonprofit organizations,
including the use of shared management agreements with the
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park or specific
units of that Park, such as the Paul Laurence Dunbar Home;
(4) consult with the Ohio Historical Society, Central State
University, Wilberforce University, and other interested
Federal, State, or local governmental entities, private and
nonprofit organizations, or individuals; and
(5) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition,
development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance
associated with the alternatives considered under the study.
(c) Applicable Law.--The study required under subsection (a) shall be
conducted in accordance with section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C.
1a-5).
(d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are
first made available for the study under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate a report that contains--
(1) the results of the study under subsection (a); and
(2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4514 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine
the suitability and feasibility of designating the Colonel
Charles Young Home in Xenia, Ohio as a unit of the National
Park System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Colonel Charles Young was a distinguished African-American
officer in the U.S. Army during the late 1800's and early
1900's, and the first African-American to hold the rank of
Colonel in the Army. His life illustrates changing race
relations between the end of the Civil War and the early days
of the Civil Rights movement.
Born to ex-slaves in Kentucky in 1864, Colonel Young was
the third African-American to graduate from West Point Military
Academy. Although he was an exceptional military officer he was
only allowed to serve in the segregated African-American
regiments known as the ``Buffalo Soldiers.'' He served five
years with the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments of the Buffalo
Soldiers and rose quickly through the ranks.
In 1894, Young left the army to settle in Xenia, Ohio, and
became a professor of Military Science and Linguistics at the
all-black Wilberforce University. There, he taught alongside
other prominent African-Americans of the time, such as W.E.B.
Dubois and poet Paul Dunbar.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Young returned
to military service as a Lieutenant Colonel and led his 10th
Cavalry Regiment in the celebrated charge up San Juan Hill in
Cuba. In 1903, Young was dispatched to California to command
the 10th Cavalry in a novel assignment--the protection of the
newly established Sequoia National Park and General Grant
National Park. In the days before the founding of the National
Park Service in 1916, the Army was entrusted with the
guardianship of our fledgling national parks. As a result,
Young, in his capacity as commander, is credited with being the
first African-American National Park Superintendent.
When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, Young was
declared physically unfit for duty due to high blood pressure.
However, he embarked on a 500-mile horse ride from his home in
Ohio to Washington, D.C. to prove his fitness, and was promptly
returned to active duty and promoted to the rank of Colonel.
H.R. 4514 directs the Secretary of the Interior
(Secretary), in consultation with the Secretary of the Army, to
conduct a special resource study of the Colonel Charles Young
Home (Home)--now a National Historical Landmark--in Xenia,
Ohio. The Secretary is given three years after funds are made
available for the study to report back to Congress with
conclusions and recommendations.
The bill directs the Secretary to: evaluate any significant
resources; determine the suitability and feasibility of
designating the Home as a unit of the National Park System;
consider other alternatives for the preservation and
interpretation of the Home, including the use of shared
management agreements with nearby park units; consult with the
other interested government and private entities; and identify
costs estimated for any acquisitions, development,
interpretation, operation and maintenance.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4514 was introduced by Representative William Lacy
Clay (D-MO) on January 26, 2010. The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. At a
Subcommittee hearing on April 27, 2010, a representative from
the Department of the Interior testified in support of this
legislation.
On June 16, 2010, the Subcommittee on National Parks,
Forests and Public Lands was discharged from the further
consideration of H.R. 4514 and the full Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee Chairman Raul
Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute to strike the findings section of the bill. The
amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to by
unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was then ordered
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous
consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the
suitability and feasibility of designating the Colonel Charles
Young Home in Xenia, Ohio as a unit of the National Park
System.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 4514--Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act
H.R. 4514 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to
conduct a special resource study of the Colonel Charles Young
Home in Xenia, Ohio. Colonel Young was an African-American who
served in the U.S. Army between 1884 and 1922. In the study,
the NPS would evaluate the resources of the site and determine
the suitability and feasibility of designating it as a unit of
the National Park System. The NPS would have three years to
complete the study and report to the Congress on its results.
Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the
availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that carrying
out the study required by H.R. 4514 would cost about $250,000
over the next three years. Enacting H.R. 4514 would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would not apply.
H.R. 4514 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARK STATEMENT
H.R. 4514 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
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